1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is concerned with a dispensing pump for metering liquid to pasty products, such as oils, jams, cottage cheese or the like into cups or bowls disposed in series and side-by-side relationship to form groups of bowls in a continuous strip cyclically advanced under the dispensing loading pump.
2. Description of Prior Art
It is well known in the art to fill pasty products, such as cottage cheese, jam, butter or the like into more or less deep-drawn cups formed by deep-drawing corresponding strips of plastic material. Metering, as a rule, is respectively effected in a row of such bowls advanced in the continuous strip whereafter the complete continuous strip emerging from the loading station is sealed by a covering foil, with the sealed and filled-up bowls being singled. Arrangement and construction of a corresponding row of metering piston pumps in the loading station is unproblematic even if two bowls in series arrangement in the loading station are intended to be filled because there is still ample space for accommodating the individual metering piston pumps. However, arrangement of such pumps will become difficult if it is intended to fill up a whole group of bowls composed, for example, of thirty-five cups made up of rows disposed in series arrangement and in side-by-side relationship. This will present special difficulties when the bowls are of relatively small dimensions and are located at small distances from one another. When filling up this type of bowls disposed in groups, the loading station, heretofore, has been so constructed that the metering piston pumps of corresponding sizes yet in fewer numbers have been located above a so-called feedstock distributor and the dispensing nozzle holder including a number of dispensing nozzles corresponding to the number of bowls contained in the group, has been established by a plurality of tubular lines. For this purpose, an opening and closing mechanism will have to be provided both between piston metering pumps and distributor and on the holder for the dispensing nozzles, that are respectively opened and closed in accordance with the dispensing cycle by suitable drives operable in synchronism. Although the operation is satisfactory, it is readily manifest that it envolves substantial mechanical efforts and correspondingly high space requirements as the distances between the supply tank for the feedstock and the dispensing nozzles are relatively extended thereby also hampering thorough cleansing of the loading stations which will have to be done from time to time to keep them sterile. Moreover, at times of standstill, some products are likely to solidify in the connecting lines.